# What Happened to American Cigar Companies?



## Snake Hips (May 30, 2008)

I've confronted myself with this question lately. In the broader (historic) sense, American cigar companies have been around since forever and produced cigars that would be considered "Old Man Cigars." All that's left is Muniemaker and Topper, really, and the brands they own (Rosedale, Judge's Cave and F.D. Grave) aren't exactly considered modern. They aren't the most popular, to be honest. But they are F-ing tasty, and genuine, in the cigar area. So, what happened?

Major brands went crappy (Phillies, Dutch Masters, El Perfecto, etc.) and the rest just kind of floated along into obscurity. 

Either American cigar companies went corporate with Dutch Masters, Backwoods, Phillies, El Producto, Hav-A-Tampa Jewels, etc. or they just kind of accepted their fate and catered to the consumer base they always had. I hope they don't go away, I rely on Muniemaker and Topper for my cheap (non-Cuban) smokes.


----------



## Kevin Keith (Jan 24, 2010)

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to post on this. From what I have read, the reason most have gone belly up is because of taxes. While this article, Smoking bans, taxes burn cigar makers - USATODAY.com, deals with large corporations, you can see how hard hit Mom and Pop manufacturers were hit.

And here's one about the decline of hand rolled US cigars:
Cigar Aficionado | Archives | Cigars Across America: U.S. Cigar Makers

BTW, I like Topper Old Fashioned and Travis Club Senators for machine mades.


----------



## Snake Hips (May 30, 2008)

Kevin Keith said:


> I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to post on this. From what I have read, the reason most have gone belly up is because of taxes. While this article, Smoking bans, taxes burn cigar makers - USATODAY.com, deals with large corporations, you can see how hard hit Mom and Pop manufacturers were hit.
> 
> And here's one about the decline of hand rolled US cigars:
> Cigar Aficionado | Archives | Cigars Across America: U.S. Cigar Makers
> ...


Thanks for the reply, good reads. I edited the original post when I saw you replied to it because I didn't proofread it; man I was drunk.


----------



## Frinkiac7 (Dec 12, 2008)

JC Newman still makes machine-mades in Tampa...not sure how much, if any, domestic tobacco they use.

Off the top of my head, I know of a Pennsylvania cigar company that makes John Hay cigars that resurrected an old brand from the 1880s, I believe they use all Pennsylvania tobacco in at least some of their sticks.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Much has to do with the Cullman family and the diversification of General Cigar Company. The Cullmans brokered tobacco and manufactured cigars in this country for most of the 20th century and along the way, managed to buy up the lions share of tobacco fields in the Connecticut Valley (which they still own). By 1960, they owned Americas most popular brands, including White Owl, William Penn, Van Dyck and Robert Burns, via the aquisition of the General Cigar Company. In the late 60's, they acquired a little known Jamaican brand, called, Macanudo. With the help of Ramon Cifuentes, a Cuban ex-pat, they developed it into the most popular cigar in the US. They began producing Macanudo in the DR and providing Connecticut wrappers to many brands, not produced in the US. 

Another factor is cost. The cost of producing hand-rolled cigars in the US is simply prohibitive. Unions, taxes, wages, benefit packages and real estate would see us paying $20-30 for a cigar that costs us $2-3 now.

Finally, the difficulty of growing tobaccos suited for filler tobaccos in the US' climate and soil, are to say the least, difficult. The costs of fertilizers and soil additives, the relatively short growing season, and again, real estate, combine to make it a costly endeavor.


----------



## Snake Hips (May 30, 2008)

Wow, great information. Thanks a lot - good stuff to learn.


----------

